George P. Murdock

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George Peter Murdock (born May 11, 1897 in Meriden , Connecticut , † March 29, 1985 in Devon , Pennsylvania ) was an American ethnologist . He is considered an important representative of comparative ethnology , ethnography and anthropology . He is known for his empirical approach and his study of family and kinship systems in different cultures.

Life

George Peter Murdock attended Phillips Academy and Yale University , where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1919 . He then began studying law at Harvard University , which he dropped out in the second year of his studies. After spending over a year traveling, he decided to study anthropology and sociology at Yale under Albert Galloway Keller . In 1925 he received his Ph.D.

Academic career

Murdock returned to Yale in 1928 as an assistant professor after teaching sociology and anthropology at the University of Maryland for two years. In 1938 he became chairman of the anthropology department at Yale University. In 1939 he received a full professorship. From 1946 to 1948 Murdock was President of the Society for Applied Anthropology , which he helped found.

In 1951 he was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . In 1960 he accepted a position as Andrew Mellon Professor of social anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh . There he founded the scientific journal Ethnology together with colleagues in 1962 .

In 1964 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences .

Contributions to the method of intercultural comparison

Murdock has further developed the method of cross-cultural comparison. He looked for statistically verifiable generalizations that would allow a global comparison of cultures. In order to create the necessary data basis for such research, Murdock founded the Human Relations Area Files in 1937 - a systematically processed collection of comparable ethnographic data as well as the associated indexed source material. The collection made it clear that ethnographic data had significant gaps and qualitative deficiencies. Murdock himself sponsored ethnological research to improve the data. A central goal of Murdock was to create a uniform terminology necessary for the global comparison of cultures. His work helped to clarify concepts and terms, especially in kinship ethnology.

Trivia

Murdock was an avid tennis player. In 1993 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his hometown of Meriden.

Works (selection)

  • The evolution of culture (1931)
  • Our primitive contemporaries (1934)
  • Social Structure (1949)
  • Africa: its peoples and their culture history (1959)
  • Ethnographic Atlas (1967)
  • Outline of world cultures (1975)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d George Murdock. In: nasonline.org. National Academy of Sciences, accessed May 28, 2020 .
  2. ^ Ward H. Goodenough: George Peter Murdock. 1897-1985. In: National Academy of Science (Ed.): Biographical Memoirs . tape 64 . The National Academies Press, Washington DC 1994, ISBN 978-0-309-04978-8 , pp. 303-319 .
  3. ^ About: Society for Applied Anthropology. In: appliedanthro.org. Retrieved May 28, 2020 (English).
  4. ↑ George Peter Murdock. In: amacad.org. American Academy of Arts & Sciences, accessed May 28, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Ethnology. An International Journal of Cultural and Social Anthropology. In: pitt.edu. Retrieved May 28, 2020 (English). ZDB ID 216476-0
  6. ^ Christian F. Feest: George Peter Murdock, "Social Structure" . In: Christian F. Feest and Karl-Heinz Kohl (eds.): Biographical Memoirs . tape 64 . Alfred Kröner Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 978-3-520-38001-2 , p. 326-331 .
  7. ^ Inductees of the Meriden (CT) Hall of Fame. In: meridenhalloffame.org. Retrieved May 28, 2020 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Murdock, George P.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Murdock, George Peter (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ethnologist
DATE OF BIRTH May 11, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Meriden , Connecticut
DATE OF DEATH March 29, 1985
Place of death Devon , Pennsylvania